


ԼƠƔƐ & ӇΛƬƐ

by Arthuria_PenDragon



Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [16]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst/Hurt, Bitterness, Childhood Friends, Emotional Hurt, Friends to Enemies, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, GoM as a Family, Grudges, Hate, Heavy Angst, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, I Don't Even Know, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by Quote, Inspired by..., Love/Hate, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Platonic Relationships, Possibly Out of Character, Post-Match, Post-Match: Rakuzan vs Seirin, Post-Winter Cup, Protective Generation of Miracles, Sad, Strained Friendships, Team as Family, What Have I Done, Why Did I Write This?, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, frienemies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:06:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29798550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon
Summary: “There’s a thin line between love and hate. Maybe you’re confusing your emotions.”— Simone Elkeles─── ∙ ~❣~ ∙ ───Haizaki and Kuroko have a history, even before Teikō. Now that theKisekiare together once more... Kuroko and Haizaki have to decide, where do they stand with each other, after so long.
Relationships: Akashi Seijuurou & Kuroko Tetsuya & Kiseki no Sedai | Generation of Miracles, Generation of Miracles & Generation of Miracles, Haizaki Shougo & Kiseki no Sedai | Generation of Miracles, Haizaki Shougo & Kuroko Tetsuya, Haizaki Shougo & Kuroko Tetsuya & Ogiwara Shigehiro, Kise Ryouta & Kuroko Tetsuya, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021426
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	ԼƠƔƐ & ӇΛƬƐ

**Author's Note:**

> I know I should be wirting my other fics... but this... I kind of hit a small writer´s block and after a few e-mails with my Beta, Stef, this popped into my mind. I don´t know what this is... so... /hides/

They had won.

Seirin had won and it made Kuroko smile. Amidst their celebrations, a certain redhead approached Seirin, making them all freeze in wariness.

“Tetsu,“ Akashi called, surprising everyone. For all they knew, the redhead had, so far... only called the Phantom _‘Tetsuya‘_ in a rather disturbing way.

Kuroko beamed and walked over to his (ex-)Captain with a spring in his steps. “Seijūrō. Good to have you back.”

Akashi hummed and briefly hugged the teal, “I’d imagine. Good to be back,“ he sighed, “You were right, in the end.”

Kuroko nodded, “Ah, there’s the real you. Well, now that’s solved... I think you guys still owe me a three-on-three...”

Akashi laughed, “Ah, yes. Of course you wouldn’t forget. I’m sure the other four would be glad to hear you haven’t forgotten. But first... I think, I’d like a little rest. And you definitely deserve to celebrate. In the end, it was you, who won. The one... who’d never really joined us... yet were always one of us.”

Kuroko gave him a look, “Mou, don’t make it sound so... bad. We’re in different teams, not on a different continent. Besides, it’s unfair on your part, to complain. You landed yourself with three of the Uncrowned Generals.“

Akashi glanced at his teammates and then rolled his eyes, gesturing at Kiyoshi and Kagami, “I can’t say you weren’t meticulous in chosing a team, Tetsu. Those two aren’t bad either.”

“I addmit, their teamwork _and_ Kiyoshi being in Seirin what led me to choose them,“ he said, throwing a fond look at the Center, “Kagami-kun was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise.”

Akashi nodded, “Ah, I could imagine. He’s so much like Daiki, that it’s both frightening and ... endearing at the same time.”

Kagami cried out indigniantly, glaring at Akashi, “Say that again, midget?! I’m nothing like that _aho!”_

Akashi stiffened and his eyes narrowed on Seirin’s Ace and Rakuzan flailed, trying to tell Kagami, that he’d crossed a line, but he wasn’t listening. The murderous aura rolling off of the shorter player was not something that could be ignored, though and Kagami soon realised his mistake. Luckily for Kagami— and Seirin — Kuroko grabbed Akashi’s wrist, preventing him from getting closer to his current Light.

“ _Seijūrō_. Don’t... If you kill him, I’ll be without a Light. Kiyoshi-sempai won’t be playing for a while... so please don’t kill Kagami-kun.”

Akashi’s eyes narrowed on Kagami further and Kagami gluped, inching farther from the ex-Teikō duo. Akashi’s gaze flickered to Kuroko and then back at Kagami, “The only reason I’m not killing you, is because Tetsuya’s in need of a partner, to play properly... and you’ve proved, that you’ve decent skills. Say something like that again and I will not be so lenient, Kagami Taiga.”

He then turned to face Rakuzan, throwing a look at Kuroko, “Maybe join us for a meal? Satsuki’s been adamant that we should eat out together, after the match and the other teams have accepted and now... I think... we’ll do too.”

Kuroko smiled, glancing at his team, “I’m sure no one here would mind a decent meal.”

* * *

Quarter an hour later, all six teams were making their way out of the stadium, the seven ex-Teikō students laughing and having fun, as if their “break“ in friendship had happened a millenia ago and was not something recent. It surprised the teams, how easily they all fell into friendly banter and discussion, planning sleepovers and street games (and Kuroko’s birthday, since that was coming up fast).

The jolly mood suddenly quieted, as Aomine noticed, that Kuroko was looking elsewhere. “Tetsu?”

Everoyne followed the Phantom’s line of sight and the Kiseki stiffened, Aomine frowning, as he draped a protective arm around his Shadow. Farther away, down a corridor stood a person most teams recognised, since their respective Miracles had mentioned the player in passing, when Kaijō had gone up against Fukuda.

The person farther away, watching them sharply, with a dark look on his face, was none other, than Haizaki Shōgo.

Kuroko peeled off Aomine’s arm and glanced at the group, “Go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

“Tetsu... Haizaki’s not...” Aomine tried, but Kuroko’s eyes narrowed, making the Power Forward fall quiet.

“Go ahead. Meet you there,“ and then he turned towards the Fukuda player.

“Maybe you’re confusing your emotions, Tetsuya,“ Akashi called, his tone soft yet sharp. Those words made everyone — player and adult alike,— look at Akashi inquiringly.

Kuroko raised an eyebrow, “And what do you mean by that?”

Akashi’s eyes flickered to Haizaki, who was now openly sneering at them, but not approaching. “There’s a thin line between love and hate. Thin line between friends and enemies.”

“Maybe you’re right about that... but at this point, I don’t know on which side of that line I stand with Shōgo. Time to see... I kept putting this off for long enough.”

“Just be careful, Kuro-chin,“ Murasakibara murmured, “He’s more, than simply _mean_. We’ve seen that when he played against Kise-chin’s team.”

Kuroko sighed, glancing at the tall Center, “I’ve know him for long enough. He’s impulsive and harsh sometimes... but he knows better, than to try doing something like that. I’d snap his wrist sooner, than he could do something to me and he knows it just as well, as I do. And while things have changed... there’s still something, that holds me back from condemning him, just as that very same thing holds him back from doing anything to me.“

The Miracles frowned and watched the Phantom walk towards Haizaki. Then Akashi gestured for the teams to move, “Go. Tetsu will catch up, when he’s done. He knows the place we had in mind.”

“Oi, we’ve seen what the bastard’s like!” Kagami growled, gesturing at Haizaki, “You’re going to let Kuroko near that...!”

“Tetsu can take care of himself,“ Aomine said sharply, “He may not look like it, but he **is** capable of breaking your wrist and he doesn’t need a ball for it, altough his _Ignite Pass: Kai_ can do it too. After our match... my doctor said I was lucky I messed up catching it, because if I caught that... it would have fractured my bones. It did strain my hand, though. Good thing we had a break between our match with Seirin and the second round, otherwise I could not have played.”

Everyone froze at that and Kagami choked, “W-what? You’re kidding, right?“

“No, he does not,“ Akashi said, “Tetsuya was — is one of us. One of Teikō and with a good reason. He can take care of himself.”

“But that guy...“ Koganei murured, gesturing backwards.

“Haizaki’s a certified bastard these days, you’re right,“ Kise said quietly.

“But once,“ Midorima said, “Tetsu and he had been close. Friends. Things got messed up in Teikō and... Haizaki hates us all and out of us all, he hates Ryō the most, because it was Ryō, who took his spot as a starter. But... while he’d been a pain in the ass... he’s always been the _nicest_ , if you could use such a word, with Tetsu.“

“And then...“ Aomine murmured, “even after he quit, he tried to be around Tetsu, but he... being kicked out of the team did something to him. Tetsu never told us how they became friends or what was going on, after he quit. But things got messy and it took some time for Tetsu to catch the bastard and speak with him. They spoke, but he never said what it had been about. He’d been totally depressed for an entire week and then... we couldn’t even so much as say a syllable about Haizaki, without pissing off Tetsu...”

“And he can be _scary_ , when he’s pissed,“ Midorima murmured, (which caused the Teikō batch to shiver) “so we stopped asking. Haizaki never turned up anywhere near us again and the two of them avoided each other for the rest of Teikō... like the plague.”

* * *

The walk form his friends, trough the corridor was almost too short. But, he had wanted to speak with Haizaki for a while now and now, that he knew his friendship with the _Kiseki_ was solid once more... he had to know where _they_ stood.

“Shōgo,“ he greeted calmly. It was odd, calling the dark-haired player by his given name like that again. He hadn’t called him that in a long while.

Grey eyes flashed, “Tetsuya. Happy to have the arrogant bunch back?“

Kuroko sighed, “We’re friends again, if you mean to ask that. But where I stand with them, does not matter. Where I stand with _you_ , matters more.”

Haizaki raised an eyebrow, “Ah, does it? _Does it matter?_ It didn’t seem to matter, when you replaced me with that loud idiot or when you sided with the blonde annoyance over me, when _Seijūrō_ “ he sneered, “benched me and then kicked me out.”

“I did not replace you with Daiki and Ryō had been my _student_. I had been the team’s Vice-Captain and Seijūrō trusted me...”

“And what was that about _me_? What was with me trusting you? Or the other way around?“ Haizaki spat back.

Kuroko sighed, “Shōgo —“ he shook his head, “If it hadn’t been for Dai and Sei... I would have never made it to Teikō’s Club and you know it.”

Haizaki scowled, “And what about us? If I hadn’t taught you in Garade School, you would have probably never even touched a ball. Ever. You were never good, but we... we had fun.”

“And we could, can still—”

“Can we? You made your choice clear years ago, _Tetsu_. You chose them over me.”

Kuroko scowled, “Friendship doesn’t work that way! You were being irrational and I’d tried telling you as much, but you didn’t listen.”

“You left me behind! And don’t tell me I’m worse than them...“ he sneered, “because they’d left you behind too. I warned you that bastards like Daiki and Seijūrō will toss you aside and didn’t they do exactly _that_? Toss you aside?”

Kuroko swallowed hard, “It had been a misunderstanding and we dealt with it. And that’s why I’m here, Shōgo. I got my friends from Middle School back. Now, I’d like my childhood friend back as well. Please. Let’s leave this behind — you don’t have to like them and they don’t have to like you. That’s fine. I’d just like you back in my life, like I had you... before Ogiwara-kun died.“

Haizaki’s lips pulled into a bitter smile, “Eeh, what that’s been like, hmm? I _told you_ that they will ruin you. They drove a wedge between us and then they crushed Meikō. Then of course, Shige had to die in that crash. And do you know what he’d told me? That you were just like _them_. And he was right. I hate the fact that I attended Teikō with you. That those, who know I’ve been there, always bring up the _Kiseki_. All they see is the sparkly, talented team,“ he sneered, “but they can’t see how rotten you are on the inside.”

Kuroko quirked an eyebrow, “Once we may have been. But we’re working to reserve the damage. But now... by now, you’re just like them. Just as bitter. It’s... I’ve never wanted this. We could still—”

Haizaki shook his head, “No, _we_ can’t. You made it clear what you thought of me, when you allowed them to kick me out of the team and replace me with that playboy and you made it clear, what you thought about our friendship, when you allowed them to crsuh Meikō.”

Haizaki turned away and Kuroko could only watch him leave.

“I — you, you were like a brother to me,“ the Phantom said queitly, “I loved you like a sibling, Shōgo.”

The other glanced at him over his shoulder, grey eyes like sharp steel, “Once, I felt the same... And today, I hate you like I have hated no one else, Tetsuya. You’re just like them. Like your precious mentor — Seijūrō’s probably _proud_ of you.”

Kuroko’s heart skipped a beat.

“Shige’s turning in his grave. You spat on his memory, Tetsuya and that’s something I’ll never forget. Something I’ll never forgive.”

Even long after Haizaki was gone, Kuroko just stood there on the shady corridor with shaking hands. Akashi had been right, after all. That invisible line was indeed thin... and while he had never been able to choose sides... Haizaki had chosen for both of them.

_Hate._

Haizaki was everything Kuroko would never be and Kuroko was everything Haizaki would never be. Opposites, who no longer had any sort of link, to balance them out. Once, that link had been Ogiwara —and basketball,— but not anymore.

Ogiwara was gone and Haizaki hated basketball, just the way he hated Kuroko.

**Author's Note:**

> YES, this is an AU, so here, instead of Ogiwara it had been _Haizaki_ , who had taught Kuroko basketball, but as you may have guessed, both Kuroko and Haizaki had known/been friends with Ogiwara. I would think, that once, even he had loved it, but had grown to hate it, partly cause the GoM outshone him, partly because he had been "too" good to find opponents, who could keep up with him.
> 
> As always, please leave comments and tell me what you think :3


End file.
